NATIONAL TEA DAY

Just five days after UK Coffee Week ended, it is now time for tea to
take centre stage. April 21st is National Tea Day
and as we gave you 15 interesting facts about coffee last week, we only though
that it was fair to do the same with our beloved tea!

1. Tea was discovered in China back in 2737BC, when an Emperor reportedly
found that tea leaves accidentally fallen in his hot water.

2. All tea (other than herbal) is made
from the ‘CamelliaSinensis’ plant.

3. When served without milk and sugar, tea contains no
calories and has only half as much caffeine as an equal sized serving of coffee.

4. The average tea drinker consumes three cups per day.

5. The UK imports and consumes 140,000 tonnes of tea
every year.

6. Between us here in the UK, we drink a staggering 62
billion cups us every year.

7. However, we are not the biggest tea drinkers in the
world – that title goes to the United Arab Emirates.

8. According to a recent survey, 98% of tea drinkers add
milk - but only 35% add sugar.

9. Some forms of tea has been proven to prevent cancer
and cardiovascular disease.

10.Iced tea was first served
during a heatwave at the St Louis World Fair in 1904.

11. Of all the tea variations in the world, green tea is
said to have the best health benefits.

12. The most expensive tea in the world is grown in the
Sichuan province of China. This tea costs the equivalent of around £155 for a small cup.

13. Although coffee is their main beverage, Americans gulp over
50 billion cups of tea every year.

14. Because of the high levels of antioxidants in tea, you
are unlikely to have the same caffeine highs and lows that you will get after
drinking coffee. This is because the antioxidants regulate the body’s
absorption of the caffeine.

15. Until the Second World
War, bricks of tea were used as a form of currency in Siberia.